M. Umadevi, K. P. Sampath Kumar, Debjit Bhowmik*, S. Duraive
India is the largest producer of medicinal plants and is rightly called the "Botanical garden of the World". Thernmedicinal plants, besides having natural therapeutic values against various diseases, also provide high quality ofrnfood and raw materials for livelihood. Considerable works have been done on these plants to treat cancer, and somernplant products have been marketed as anticancer drugs, based on the traditional uses and scientific reports. Thesernplants may promote host resistance against infection by re-stabilizing body equilibrium and conditioning the bodyrntissues. Several reports describe that the anticancer activity of medicinal plants is due to the presence of antioxidantsrnin them. In fact, the medicinal plants are easily available, cheaper and possess no toxicity as compared to the modernrn(allopathic) drugs. Thus, the various combinations of the active components of these plants after isolation andrnidentification can be made and have to be further assessed for their synergistic effects. Preparation of standardizedrndose and dosage regimen may play a critical role in the remedy of cancer. The rate with which cancer is progressing,rnit seems to have an urgent and effective effort for making good health of humans as well as animals. There is arnbroad scope to derive the potent anticancer agents from medicinal plants, which need thorough research.